A Million Words
by AutumnMTC
Summary: I take the Word of the Day from Merriam-Webster Online, and I make a short story out of it. (Garrus/FemShep oneshots through all three games.)
1. Lackadaisical

July 10, 2013

Lackadaisical- adj: lacking life, spirit, or zest; languid

* * *

As soon as the shuttle landed in the cargo bay, the side door was open and Shepard was striding towards the elevator at the end of the room. Garrus recognized the position of her hunched shoulders and decided not to call out to her and see if she was okay. _Of course she's not okay. How could anyone be okay after what happened?_

Her mag-boots made the floor vibrate as she went to the elevator. She didn't even take the time to drop her pistol off in her weapons locker. Despite the distance, Garrus could see the stark whiteness of her knuckles as she gripped the weapon in one of her hands, running her thumb over the back of it repeatedly. When the elevator opened, she stepped in and slammed the butt of her pistol into the inside floor panel and turned around, back abnormally straight and shoulders tense. Her expression was blank. Too blank, he thought, considering what had just occurred on Tuchanka.

After the elevator doors closed behind the commander, Garrus rubbed a hand over his face and exhaled slowly. "Whose turn is it to talk to her?"

Liara skirted around him and exited the shuttle, setting her pistol on a nearby table and powering down her shields. She then began to tinker with something on her Omnitool. Without looking up, she replied, "Yours, of course."

"Right, because I'm doing her so much good," Garrus said bitterly. "Turians don't handle human emotions too well, especially when it comes to the women. She needs someone more...I don't know, _human_ to talk her problems out with."

"Alenko is human."

"Don't even joke about that."

Liara smirked and shut off her Omnitool. She crossed the floor to stand in front of Garrus, looking up into his worried eyes. She knew he was worried about Shepard's well-being more than anyone else on this ship, but convincing her to talk out her feelings and get them off her chest was difficult, to say the least. Liara placed an encouraging hand on the Turian's shoulder and gave him a small smile. "Garrus, you both have such a history together. You're the only one she'd ever trust with personal things like this. And sometimes, all she really needs is someone to listen. It is quite similar to how Asari handle emotional conflicts."

Garrus sat on a nearby crate of thermal clips and massaged his sore neck, thinking of how to handle the situation. He'd noticed the presence of dark circles underneath Shepard's eyes for a while. From his research on humans, that meant she wasn't sleeping well, if at all. And her cheeks were looking more pale and sallow by the day. He knew that, with each passing day, the prolonged attack on Earth was wearing on her in more ways than one. With all of the meaningless assignments sent by Hackett and the political bullshit she now had to wade through every day, Garrus was surprised she hadn't spaced herself. Again.

"EDI, where's Shepard?" He asked quietly, knowing that he had to see her.

"The commander is currently in her cabin, Mr. Vakarian."

"Thanks."

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**If you think this was good, review and let me know. I don't know if I'm going to continue with this series unless I have some interest from readers. Much appreciated!**

**(This ****series will be based off of the word of the day supplied by Merriam-Webster Online. These will be in no particular order, but I will sort them when I feel like being finished. They will also go from very short to very long. It just depends on how much time**** I have and how often I get a good word.**** All will centre on the Garrus/FemShep relationship.)**


	2. Irascible

**Irascible (adj) – Marked by hot temper and easily provoked anger**

**Setting: ME2, after Garrus' loyalty mission**

**(EDIT: Well, I screwed up and mentioned Javik in this one. That little tidbit is now gone. Whoops.)**

* * *

As Jack tiptoed out of the elevator, she noticed that the Crew Deck was unusually silent. Sure, most of the crew was sleeping. But still, she should've been able to hear the annoying clack of Miranda's heels in her office, or even the familiar hum of biotics coming from the observation deck where Samara always meditated. Jack frowned and bent her knees into a defensive stance. Something definitely wasn't right.

She silently edged around the elevator and into the mess hall, keeping a sharp eye. The med bay was dark and Chakwas was nowhere to be found. That one annoying chef (whose name always escapes her) wasn't around either, which Jack was grateful for. He was always making her try his new batch of whatever-the-hell he had managed to concoct that evening. She cringed at the thought and ducked behind the mess hall table.

All of the access panels on the doors were dark. There was warm food on the mess hall table. No one was in sight.

"What the hell?" Jack muttered.

The biotic inched to her left and scurried across the walkway towards the med bay. She pressed her back against the door and readied her hands with biotics in case something had happened. Living in the underbelly of engineering, she didn't exactly know what was going on in the ship at all times. For all she knew, Collectors had boarded the ship and taken the whole crew.

She rolled her eyes and snickered. _What are the chances of that?_

"EDI," Jack whispered, hoping the AI wouldn't be too loud in response. She knew it was too much to hope.

"Yes, Jack?"

"Pipe the fuck down, okay? I need to know where the crew has gone."

EDI almost sounded amused. "The majority of the Normandy's crew can be found on the third level. I believe they are hiding from Commander Shepard."

Jack furrowed her eyebrows. "Why are they hiding from Shep-"

Before Jack could finish her question, the door to the main battery beeped twice. She tensed and her biotics flared even stronger, just in case anything that needed killing came through the door. When she didn't hear anything, she peered around the corner. Seeing another empty space next to the small staircase, Jack dove and rolled into the cramped blind spot. She looked discreetly over the top of the ledge. The access panel to the main battery flared to bright green, and the door slid open.

"—and I don't care if you think you've got some kind of responsibility to take care of me. You're my commander, not my goddamn mother."

The infuriated Turian skirted around Shepard's thin silhouette and he exited the battery, storming down the walkway between the sleeper pods. He got about halfway to the stairs before Shepard spun on her heel and shouted, "That's where you're wrong, Vakarian. I don't have any feelings of responsibility toward you whatsoever."

Garrus' mandibles flared in anger and he turned to face Shepard again. Jack noticed with thinly veiled amusement that Shepard had let her guard down for once. Instead of the calm, cool, collected Commander Shepard, she was just…Shepard. An angry version of herself, but she was herself nonetheless. Her green eyes were blazing with anger and her hair was falling out of her ponytail slightly. How long had they been fighting?

"Oh, really?" Garrus called out. "Then why did you feel the need to ruin everything I've been working for since my squad got _killed_? Killed! DO you even understand what that means?"

"Don't talk to me about getting my squad killed. You were there on Virmire when Ashley died."

"You had a choice on Virmire! I had no control over what Sidonis did to them, and he deserves to die for it."

"The Reapers are the only things in the galaxy that _deserve_ to die."

"Sidonis killed my men-"

Shepard crossed her arms and raised her chin in defiance. "You know just as well as I do that you could've taken the shot if you wanted to. And I know you wanted to, even if it meant killing me!"

"You would've done the exact same thing if you were in my position!"

"No," she hissed. "I wouldn't kill my own commander, even if it meant avenging the deaths of my teammates."

Jack took a moment to let her biotics die down so she could focus on the fight happening before her. This was way more entertaining than she could have ever imagined. She knew how close Garrus and Shepard were, so something major must have happened. She smiled and continued to watch the show.

Shepard uncrossed her arms and approached her Turian teammate, glaring up into his eyes. Jack admired her fearlessness—any other human would've pissed their pants or shot Garrus at the sight of him. But not Shepard. She instead jabbed a finger up into his face and hissed out, "Listen, Garrus. You're not a soldier, so I can't tell you what to do. But I can tell you your options, at least."

Garrus inhaled deeply but didn't say anything. He looked murderous.

"Option number one: you can apologize for everything you just said to me, and I'll apologize as well. We both exit this conversation as friends."

Garrus stayed silent.

"Option two: Next time we dock, you can get off my ship. Go back to your days as a vigilante, a C-sec officer, whatever. I don't care. We'll part ways painlessly."

Again, Garrus didn't say anything. He simply stared her down.

Jack felt the change before she saw it. Before Shepard said anything further, her expression suddenly darkened. It felt like the room had dropped about ten degrees in a matter of seconds. Her eyes were narrowed and her lips were in a steep frown. Her dark eyebrows were lower than usual.

It looked like she was staring down a Reaper.

"Option three," Shepard said menacingly. Jack frowned, not liking the tone the commander had taken. That voice was the one she used on the Reapers, Collectors, and sometimes the Illusive Man. She _never_ used it on her own teammates.

"Option three involves me shooting you and throwing your body out of the airlock. Do I make myself clear?"

Jack heard a barely-audible growl emanate in Garrus' subharmonics. If Shepard heard it, she didn't give any indication.

"Sorry, _commander_," Garrus sneered. "But I'm not going anywhere. And we will _not_ be on good terms."

"Don't make me hurt you, Mr. Vakarian," Shepard warned. Her hand began to inch toward the pistol that was holstered on her hip.

Okay, now things were starting to concern Jack. Shepard was about to pull a damn gun on her best friend. That was bizarre.

Garrus chuckled darkly. "We're back to last names and titles? Oh, that is too much."

Jack focused her biotics to her hands. A firefight between the two of them would probably destroy the Normandy, or worse—someone might get hurt. Damn Shepard and her _Protect Innocent Lives at All Costs _mantra. It must've rubbed off on her.

"I know I should have warned you before I jumped between your shot at Sidonis, but you have to realize that what you were going to do was wrong. You can't just murder someone—"

"He killed my entire team, Shepard!" Garrus snapped.

"That doesn't make it right!"

The silence was deafening. Jack could hear the blood rushing through her ears and the hum of her biotics meshing with the engines of the ship. Peeking over the edge of her hiding place, Jack planned her attack. She'd hit Garrus with singularity and then warp, keeping Shepard as safe as possible. The galaxy needed her more than some Turian vigilante.

A sigh broke the silence.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave, Garrus," Shepard said with genuine sadness, resting her hand on her pistol. "You're not emotionally stable and I can't afford to risk my team by taking you on this mission to the Collector base. I'm sorry."

"I'm not leaving."

"Don't make me hurt you."

"You wouldn't dare."

"I would."

In the space of time it took Jack to blink, Shepard and Garrus had both pulled out their guns. Garrus was aiming an assault rifle at Shepard and she was aiming her pistol, both hands keeping it steady. They looked ready to pull the trigger. Jack tensed, waiting to see who would blink first.

One second…

Three seconds…

Ten seconds…

Jack was about to stand up and rip the two of them apart when the strangest thing happened.

Shepard _smiled_.

Jack was stunned. Very few people had ever seen Shepard smile before, much less laugh. But lo and behold, there she was; plain as day, smiling at the person holding a gun on her. Jack stayed hidden, but kept her guard up in case things changed.

Shepard lowered her gun and let her arm hang at her side. She was still smiling as she rubbed the back of her neck and chuckled slightly, obviously embarrassed about what they had just tried to do. Garrus lowered his assault rifle and tossed it to the floor, laughing with Shepard. They both stood there for a minute, laughing and looking like complete idiots. Jack was confused, to say the least.

"Well, that didn't go as well as I'd hoped," Shepard observed, grinning. She holstered her pistol again and walked up to Garrus. She looked completely at ease, same as him. It was like they hadn't just been aiming guns at each other, for Christ's sake.

"That's kind of an understatement." Garrus stepped over and leaned against one of the sleeping pods, crossing his arms in his usual position.

Shepard walked up next to him and bumped him with her shoulder before saying, "Hey, I'm sorry for not warning you before interrupting your shot. I'm also sorry for everything I said and for pulling a gun on you."

"And threatening to throw me out the airlock," Garrus added, flaring his mandibles in a Turian smile.

Shepard rolled her eyes and bit her lip to keep from smiling wider. "I know, I know. I'm sorry for that, too. I'm just…I'm sorry for everything, I guess."

"I'm sorry, too," Garrus replied sullenly. "You were right to block my shot at Sidonis. I was angry and it clouded my judgment. I'm also sorry for everything that I did in reaction to that, including the whole gun fiasco there. Although that will be a good story to tell."

"No kidding."

Garrus bumped Shepard with his elbow and looked her in the eye, suddenly serious. "Thanks, Shepard. For everything."

Shepard gave him a small smile and nodded. "You're my best friend, Garrus. I'd do anything to help you."

Jack rolled her eyes. This was getting too mushy for her tastes. She finally powered down her biotics and yawned, ready for bed. Garrus and Shepard were still staring into each other's eyes, having some kind of "moment" or whatever. Whether it was friendship or something more, she didn't care. She just wanted to get out of her craped hiding position.

Jack stood up and feigned an obnoxious yawn before remarking, "Just kiss and get it over with. We would all like to sleep at some point. Goodnight, you two."

* * *

**I might fix the ending to that one later, but it's super late and I'm exhausted. So, screw it.**

**What did you think? I'm very open to criticism and suggestions. Let me know!**


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